On an early morning in September 1970, a fire at the National Museum of American History (then the Museum of History and Technology) destroyed almost the entire third floor. In response, the Smithsonian Institution developed fire safety standards above those of the legal building codes. Now, Andy Wilson, associate director of fire protection services in the Office of Safety, Health and Environmental Management (OSHEM), ensures that all materials used in building exhibitions at the Smithsonian adhere to the highest standard of fire safety.

As building standards and safety regulations increase over time, commonly used materials need to improve to meet the needs of the Institution.

mila-wall® is a moveable wall system which allows galleries to be easily reconfigured between exhibitions. While these types of portable walls have been a godsend to designers and installation teams around the Smithsonian, their use at the Smithsonian only came to the attention of OSHEM about a year ago. Until recently, these walls were constructed out of materials with a fire safety rating of Class C, which fail to meet Smithsonian standards. The Smithsonian’s standard for exhibits in areas with sprinkler systems is Class B rated, and for areas without sprinklers, Class A rated materials must be used.

The Office of Exhibits Central works with many of the museums and galleries who currently use mila-walls. As a central contact point, OEC worked with OSHEM and the manufacturers of the modular walls, MBA Worldwide, to express the Institution’s concerns and find a workable solution.

In response, MBA has developed new “B1” panels that are built with Class A rated materials. These safer walls are compatible with the 100 series system, allowing museums with the older walls to add to their inventory without having to replace everything all at once. The new panels are made of cement-bonded chipboard and an aluminum framework. All materials are either recycled and/or recyclable. OSHEM has also agreed to allow galleries throughout the Institution to continue using their existing Class C rated panels until they need replacement.

OEC is also taking the lead on a cooperative initiative to coordinate and track the inventory of mila-walls owned by the different galleries around the Mall. This new program will allow museums to share currently owned resources, and may enable them to purchase new panels in bulk at a discount, saving the individual museums and the Institution as a whole, money at a time when budgets are tight. For more information, email Scott Schmidt, OEC Fabrication supervisor.

top photo: Andy Wilson (left) discusses fire safety regulations with exhibit staff from across the Smithsonian.
bottom photo: The insides of the new B1 Class A fire rated mila-wall® (left) and the old 100 series (right).
photos by David Liston

Everyone is really busy here at the Office of Exhibits Central. This September, all four shops plus our offices are moving for the first time in 30 years! During June and July, we are finishing several projects, so that we can pack tools and offices, archive old files, and move materials and heavy equipment in August and September.

Above, Rob Wilcox, our project manager overseeing all aspects of the move, tours the new facility with Sarah Drumming, civil engineer with Smithsonian’s Office of Engineering Design and Construction. Before we can move in, much work needs to be done, including the installation of new ventilation and electrical systems.

Back at OEC, the design, editing, and graphics shops are working on the Summer School exhibit, which opens June 20 at the Archives of American Art. Below, designer Alicia Jager checks the colors on a map to be sent to our graphics shop for final printing. And graphics specialist Kathleen Varnell laminates a digital print with a protective film.

In Fabrication, we’re building components and planning the installation for Going to Sea, a temporary exhibit to open with the National Museum of Natural History’s Ocean Hall in September.

Modelshop is constructing a diorama for the new exhibit Dig It! The Secrets of Soil”, which opens July 19 at the National Museum of Natural History. Below, exhibit specialist Natalie Gallelli adds a mixture of epoxy and maché to give the sides and edges naturalistic texture.

Q: Can you describe what you do here at OEC?
A: When I first started at OEC, I was an exhibits specialist for years on the bench. I built display cases, ran moldings, and occasionally helped with crating. Over the years, I acquired administrative duties and after a series of leadership changes, I became the acting Fabrication unit supervisor in April 2003. Last year I was reassigned, returning to the bench part-time while continuing to perform some administrative tasks and working installations.

Q: How long have you been working at OEC? How did you get started here?
A: I have been at OEC since April 1984. I started in a three-month position that has led to twenty-four years of work. My first project was the crating of Treasures of the Smithsonian Institution, a traveling exhibit that opened in Scotland. Several OEC staff got to work on the installation in Edinburgh!

Q: What kind of training did you have before coming here?
A: I actually received my B.A. from the University of Vermont in geology. After several years of tech work at the U.S. Geological Survey, I started helping a friend on weekends in his high-end antique restoration shop in Purcellville, VA. This part-time effort turned into a four-year full-time job, which prepared me well for my SI position. It’s interesting how many OEC people formally studied something other than what they’re doing now. Many of us have “fallen into” our positions.

Q: What is your favorite part of the job? The most challenging?
A: I enjoy the variety of tasks I do here. There is always something different that I’m working on, which keeps life interesting. I’d say the commute is the hardest part; there’s really nothing I dislike about the job per se.

Q: Have you had a favorite project so far?
My favorite project was an installation we did in 1987 at the National Museum of American History for Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) called Hollywood: Legend and Reality. The exhibit featured famous movie props, including Sam’s piano from Casablanca, a miniature King Kong used to film the original movie, the alien spaceship model from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Marilyn Monroe’s billowing dress from The Seven Year Itch. That was a fun project!

Q: What exactly does a management service specialist do?
A: Another way of describing my position would be an “administrative officer” or “office manager.” Basically, I manage the office.

Q: What kinds of responsibilities does managing an office include?
A: I process personnel actions such as hiring and terminating staff, updating staff personnel files, writing position descriptions, and setting up training for staff. Timecards, travel requests, and purchase orders are all processed through me. I provide services to all of OEC staff and clients within and outside of the Institution. I work closely with a variety of offices in the Institution that handle staff and financial affairs. My goal is to provide excellent customer care to all of OEC staff and clients by making sure their needs are met to their expectation in a timely manner.

Q: How long have you worked at OEC and why did you decide to start working here?
A: I’ve been working here since 1996. I started out as a management support assistant. A friend who was working here told me that OEC needed some help. They contracted me to work with them for thirty days. Somewhere along the line, those thirty days turned into twelve years of employment!

Q: What kind of training and/or experience did you have before coming to OEC?
A: I worked at a large health insurance company for twenty-three years prior to coming to the Smithsonian. There I worked as an enrollment specialist, claim processor, unit leader, and customer service representative. I have had various training in leadership skills, how to manage time and people, the federal policy and regulations pertaining to procurement, travel, and many other topics.

Q: What is your favorite part of the job?
A: I love working with people. In my job, I spend a lot of time working with the staff of OEC. Also, I get a behind-the-scenes look at how exhibits come together prior to being put on display in a museum.

Q: What is a challenge you have had to face?
A: One challenge is adjusting to changes as they come down through the Institution and communicating those changes to the staff. Changes startle some people, so my job is to reassure and assist staff as they adapt to the changes.

Smithsonian Institution employees are used to working behind-the-scenes, but they have a chance to show off their own artwork to the public at Artists at Work: The Smithsonian Community Art Show 2008. The exhibit opened on March 27 and will be on display through May 18 at the S. Dillon Ripley Center Concourse.

Over 170 Smithsonian staff, volunteers, interns, and fellows submitted over 170 entries to a jury who picked 71 final pieces for exhibition. The entries include art of various media from fabric to clay to photography. Once the pieces were selected, OEC designer Bart McGarry came up with a layout for the gallery using the preliminary measurements supplied by the artists. OEC fabrication specialists Robert Perantoni and Richard Gould did a final measurement of the pieces and installed them in the Ripley Center.

This staff art show is sponsored by the Smithsonian Community Committee (SCC). Throughout the year, OEC collaborates with the SCC on various activities, including a photography contest and a summer picnic.

top photo: Gould, McGarry, and OEC project manager Betsy Robinson decide on the placement of a photograph.
left photo: Perantoni makes sure a piece of art is level.

More photos

Q: What do you do here at OEC?
A: I make sure that the various parts of exhibits, including artifacts, are packed safely and securely. I design, layout, and build the crates that will be used to pack exhibits for travel.

Q: Have you had a favorite project so far?
A: I once had to figure out how best to pack an 8-10 inch sandpiper. The box I made folded up around the bird like a lily and supported the body from underneath. Then I made a cap that went on top to secure everything.

When I had just started working at OEC, I impressed my supervisor by finding an innovative way to pack a set of powder-filled glass vials that were placed upside-down into a board. George Washington Carver made this display in order to hold some of the compounds he had synthesized. Instead of just cavity packing it (embedding it in foam), I made a box with a double box lid similar to a tackle box or doctor’s satchel. The bottom plate holding the vials sat embedded in foam in the bottom of the box and the two parts of the lid closed around the vials, giving them support.

Q: Your most challenging project?
A: The First Ladies exhibit was challenging because it required packing many different types of artifacts. We built crates with foam-filled drawers in order to handle the variety of objects. The crates were so nice they almost could have been furniture!

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?
A: Besides the variety of projects that I get to work on, I enjoy finding solutions to the challenges of artifact packing. It is always challenging because the objects vary so much, from large to very delicate.

Q: How did you get started in this business?
A: I graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Philosophy, but I took several courses in woodworking for fun while I was in college and high school. After college, I was apprenticed at a cabinet shop and then I got a job teaching woodworking for a couple of years. When I came to OEC in 1990, I was assigned the specialty of packing where I joined a team with two other packers. Here, I received my initial training. Now, I am the only packer and I do roughly the same amount of work as all three of us did before.

I’ve taken several graduate courses at George Washington University in registrarial work (caring for museums), and several courses given by the Smithsonian in packing and artifact care. I also look at what other packers do to see what works and what doesn’t.